


you're the secret i don't want to keep

by fromthewritingtable



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Good Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts, Oblivious Hermione Granger, Pining Draco Malfoy, Random & Short, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, but has a soft spot for hermione, draco is still a bully though, draco malfoy isn't a wizard nazi in this, draco still hates the golden trio, he's still an asshole but it's a bit toned-down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromthewritingtable/pseuds/fromthewritingtable
Summary: One late-night chance meeting in the library turns into several, until it turns to stolen glances and unspoken conversations between Draco and Hermione.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 50
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know how long this one is going to be, but I really want to stretch it out a bit! Figure I can make myself write something longer than my usual one-shots. I hope you enjoy! :D

Hermione always found herself sneaking out of the Gryffindor house so she could spend the rest of her nights in complete solace at the empty library. She wasn’t technically breaking the rules with her late-night escapades since she was doing something productive, but it was against school rules for students to be out of their houses at this time of night.

But Hermione, being the intelligent & sensible one out of the Golden Trio, brought along Harry’s invisibility cloak for good measure. She couldn’t exactly say that he let her borrow it, but she did ask a half-asleep Harry if she could borrow it; she could only assume that his unintelligible words earlier were him granting her permission.

One of the good things about being in the library at this hour was that there wasn’t a living soul in sight. Heck, even the ghosts who roamed Hogwarts in daylight were nowhere to be seen. Hermione had the whole place to herself and that’s exactly how she wanted it.

Sitting in front of her were piles of books she was using as reference for her Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Hermione wasn’t necessarily failing the class but she knew that she could do better than the ‘E’ she currently has. She didn’t know how else to pull up her grade other than reading on and hoping she’d wake up the next morning knowing how to perform the spells properly.

Hermione was determined on studying but the slightest noise from the other side of the room was enough to get her out of focus. She was quick to cover herself with the invisibility cloak, looking around frantically for any sign of prefects or professors roaming the supposedly-empty library.

A few minutes pass and Hermione uncovers herself from the cloak, setting it to the side and looking around for good measure before diving in the book in front of her. She was muttering the spells under her breath, flicking an imaginary wand in her hand as a way to practice.

“ _Reducto.”_ Hermione cast over and over. She’s already mastered this spell but she still wanted to leave a good impression on their professor. Who knows, maybe they’d give her a chance to have a higher grade.

“Keep saying that, Granger, and you might turn the whole room to dust.”

Hermione jumped in her seat and let out a little yelp, not expecting anyone to be there. She looked over to the side where she heard footsteps approaching. She let out a sigh at the familiar and annoying sight in front of her. “Are you stalking me, Malfoy?” she asked, obviously irritated by the intrusion.

Draco could only laugh, going to take a seat at the chair at the end of the table. “Can’t a man study in peace?” he asked with the familiar smirk Hermione’s been wanting to wipe off of his face since the day they met.

“You don’t seem too happy to see me, Granger. I’m honestly hurt.” Draco teased, the smirk still on his lips. He got up from the chair and walked on over to Hermione’s spot. He sat down on the table this time and looked over at the pile of books beside him.

It was taking everything in Hermione to just petrify Draco here and there but she figured she had some time to kill. Maybe he could entertain her while she lets her brain take a break from her readings.

“Dark Arts, eh? Is this because for the first time, you’ve fallen second _to me_?” Draco bragged, eyes glistening in delight. He knew this was the most effective way to get Hermione all riled up. Nothing gave him the most amusement other than hearing Hermione talk away and try to defend herself after Draco’s got her all flustered and undone.

She was obviously ticked off by this. Not because it’s true, but because Draco was _gloating_. And Hermione hated nothing more than Draco being right and boastful all at the same time. “Who says I’m not letting myself get an E on purpose, Malfoy?” she sneered, rolling her eyes and shifting a bit in her seat. Maybe it was wrong that she entertained Draco, because it only seemed to enable him in teasing her some more.

“Why aren’t you like your usual self?” asked an amused Draco, his hands busy with rolling up his sleeves up to his elbows. Compared to Hermione who was wearing a matching pajama set, he was still in his school uniform minus the robe.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at this but didn’t bother looking Draco’s way. “My usual self? Aren’t I my usual self right now?” she wondered, glancing at the fair-haired boy as she continued writing down in her notebook.

“You know, your usual self that’s disgusted by my mere presence? Your usual self who absolutely loathes my entire being? You’re usually like that when Pottymouth and Weaselboy’s with you.” Draco pointed out, a smile playing at his lips.

Though he hasn’t been the nicest wizard towards Hermione, at least he’s taken it upon himself to leave her out of his insult barrage whenever he would chance upon Ron and Harry. He didn’t know what happened but after their first year, he’s been gentler when it came to Hermione. Crabbe and Goyle have noticed this but Draco dismisses it all the time, explaining that Hermione was “a girl and it would be boring to always insult her.”

Hermione scrunched up her nose and made a face at Draco, only to have the boy laughing at how silly she looked. “Who says I’m not disgusted by you being here? Looking at you makes me wish I could conjure a sick bag for myself.” Hermione retorted and rolled her eyes when all she got from Draco was laughter.

He moved from where he was seated on the table and went ahead to sit in the chair beside her, much to Hermione’s disappointment. “What are you doing, Malfoy?” she interjected as he reached to scan through her notes. “Helping you, Granger. I don’t mind seeing you suffer so much because of this class, but it’s really sad to watch.” he told her nonchalantly, making Hermione groan in frustration before she helplessly tried to take her notes from Draco.

Draco skimmed through her notes and shook his head as he turned over the pages, clicking his tongue from time to time. This sent Hermione on edge because she knew that she was diligent in following the instructions both from her professors and the countless books she’s read.

“The problem is you read too much into it, Granger. You really think you’ll be able to fend for yourself if you stick by the books?” Draco questioned. Hermione just huffed and snatched her notebook away from his hands. “I know what I’m doing, Malfoy.” she expressed in annoyance.

Hermione suddenly stood up from the chair and gathered all her stuff in her arms, returning the books she got from the shelves with a flick of her hand. “See? I know what I’m doing,” she boasted, putting on the invisibility cloak but not before she took a look at Draco.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d be able to study better if I were alone.” she bid her farewell and completely covered herself with the cloak, light footsteps retreating.

Draco could only smile as he waited until the footsteps disappeared, making his way back to the Slytherin common room before someone caught him lurking outside and breaking curfew.

Knowing how Hermione was determined in studying, Draco knew exactly where to look for her the next couple of nights he wanted some company.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione waited a whole hour before she made her way to the library, intentionally sneaking out later than usual so she could be sure that Draco wouldn’t be there to pester her. If he saw that she wasn’t studying, he would most likely go someplace else to look for someone else to annoy.

She made her way inside and firmly clutched the invisibility cloak around her. She made her way over to her usual spot and was about to take off the cloak when she saw a familiar figure seated at _her_ table.

“Was beginning to wonder when you were going to show up, Granger.” Draco spoke, feet propped up on the table in front of him while holding a book in his lap. “Are you just going to stand there? I mean, I don’t mind if you stare at me but I’d really like it if we were productive with our time, yeah?”

Hermione quickly took off the cloak at his teasing, revealing annoyance written all over her face. “What are you doing at _my_ table, Malfoy?” she hissed, dumping all her stuff on the other end of the table. She was definitely not going to be sitting anywhere near the Slytherin.

Draco set the book aside before looking around and under the table, laughing at her teasingly as he sat back up properly. “I don’t see your name anywhere, Granger.” he teased, standing up and walking over to where she was.

Hermione was basically shooting daggers with her eyes. And if looks could kill, Draco would certainly be a goner by now. “Have you made it your life’s mission to be a pain in the arse, Malfoy?” she asked sarcastically, earning a few chuckles from the golden-haired boy.

Draco reached over as soon as she was starting to open up her notebook, taking it from her and setting it aside. “Listen, I hate the fact that you’re boring yourself to death with all these readings. How about we go directly to application, yeah?” he proposed, leaning in closer to Hermione to prove a point.

Hermione found herself holding her breath at the close proximity between her and Draco. Admittedly, he was quite dashing from where she was seated. His tousled hair, piercing eyes, and charming smile were enough to unravel anyone. But Hermione was quick to snap out of it as she abruptly stood up and put space between her and the boy.

“You all right, Granger? You’re looking paler than me.” Draco joked as he stood back up and straightened himself.

Hermione couldn’t understand why she was getting this flustered over Draco Malfoy. Sure, he was undeniably attractive but he was also a big-time bully. For all she knew, he was setting her up and this was going to be an elaborate prank that involved the other Slytherins that liked picking on her and her other friends.

“I just want to be alone, Malfoy.” she answered back, shaking her head and letting out a few huffs at how frustrated she was with the way Draco has been pestering her since last night. Instead of taking a hint and leaving, he took it upon himself to annoy her even further.

“I can see in your eyes that you want to kill me, but I just really want to help, Granger.” Draco declared, smiling at Hermione. She definitely could see that his features looked softer compared to when he was walking down the halls and terrorizing anyone who got in his way. But Hermione was quick to shake off these thoughts, blushing as she looked away and composed herself.

“Malfoy, I swear if this is one of your stupid, mean pranks…” Hermione said through gritted teeth. How could she trust someone as dubious as Draco? He’s been her biggest bully back in first year. Sure, his teasing has reduced to a bare minimum but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t as big of a bully as he was before towards Ron and Harry.

Draco held his hands up to feign innocence, the cheeky smirk on his lips not helping to eliminate all the suspicions Hermione had about him. “This isn’t a prank, Granger. Why, do you see Crabbe or Goyle anywhere?” he asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“It’s just you and me here right now. Just us, I promise.”

Those words made Hermione’s heart jump a bit in her chest, but she quickly brushed it off and shook her head. “How do you suppose you’re going to help me?” she asked coldly, wanting to sound as disinterested as possible.

“Just trust me, okay?” Draco smiled, moving to take her invisibility cloak and put it over the both of them.

Draco was holding up the cloak just enough to keep them covered, Hermione having no choice but to press up against him as they walked through the dark halls of Hogwarts. Throughout the whole journey to wherever Draco was taking them, she was stumbling and he was always quick to catch her.

It was subtle, but it was enough to make Hermione blush.

* * *

They finally arrive to wherever it was that Draco took them. As Draco took the cloak off of them, Hermione surveyed her surroundings and was quick to realize that they were on the fourth floor. “What are we doing here?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“ _Alohomora._ ” Draco whispered while waving his wand, a click sound coming from the door in front of them. Hermione looked up and read the label on the door, feeling awfully confused as to why they were breaking into a storeroom.

Before Draco could enter, Hermione put a hand on his arm to stop him. “What exactly are we doing here, Draco?” she asked in annoyance. Draco chuckled at her expression and was able to escape from her grip. “Just come inside, Granger.” he invited before disappearing inside the room.

Hermione would be stupid to follow Draco into the room because she had a gut feeling that this was just a set-up. It was unreal how Draco would want to help other people, let alone someone who was a mudblood like her.

She could hear Draco’s voice coming from inside the room, calling out to her and asking her to come inside. Hermione could picture it then and there: a room full of Draco’s friends ready to pull a quick prank on her. Who could blame them? She was the easiest target from the trio.

She’s always been so understanding, sometimes defending Draco from Harry and Ron even though he’s been nothing but horrible towards them for the past years. She always believed she got that trait from all those times she spent with Muggles.

So when Draco called out her name one more time, Hermione mustered up all her courage and went inside the storeroom with her eyes closed, dreading whatever mischievous prank Draco was about to pull on her.

She stands in the doorway for a while until Draco huffs and she hears something scrape against the floor. “Are you just going to stand there all night, Granger?” he asked in annoyance, Hermione opening her eyes to the sight of a confused Draco.

Hermione was surprised when she looked around and saw that they were the only people in the room. The storeroom was actually an unused classroom, chairs and desks piled in one corner of the room while the rest of it was space. In the middle of the room stood Draco.

“Expecting something else, Granger?” he asked with a teasing smile.

Hermione could only laugh at how wrong she was. She honestly thought she was going to get ambushed by a couple of Slytherins, but Draco was the only one there. And he seemed to be eager on helping her learn some more of the spells for their D.A.D.A. class.

“Well, come on. We haven’t got all night.” Draco beckoned, moving to get a broken chair from the corner of the room and placed it in front of Hermione. “We’ll work on this for tonight.” he explained and walked on over to stand beside the girl.

“Show me what you’ve got then, Granger.”

The night carried on with Draco and Hermione showing off their skills and trying to one-up each other, but managing to sneak in a few laughs here and there. Hermione didn’t think she’d have as much fun studying with someone like Draco, but here they were.

It was quite surreal, but she would settle for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! I've only started writing fics again and I've been used to writing one-shots so this is me treading familiarly unfamiliar territory lol. Please do leave your thoughts below and I hope you enjoyed the second chapter! :)


	3. Chapter 3

“Where have you been?” a groggy voice called out as Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room.

She froze and knew there was no way out of it because sitting in front of the fireplace was Harry. His hair was messy and there was still that haze of sleep in his eyes, but he was most definitely awake now that Hermione’s gone back at such an ungodly hour.

“It’s nearly 4 in the morning, ‘Mione. You usually get back around 2.” Harry pointed out to which Hermione just huffed. She walked over to the couch and sat down on it, neatly folding Harry’s invisibility cloak before she placed it on her lap. “You know me and how I get lost in books.” she lied, hoping it would be enough to convince Harry so he could drop the whole conversation altogether.

Harry hugged his knees closer to his chest and let his body warm up by the fireplace, still not buying Hermione’s excuse. “Mr. Filch checks the library around 3, though. Even locks it up after he found me in the restricted section a couple of months back, remember?” Harry informed her; Hermione was acting rather odd and it certainly didn’t help eliminate any suspicion in his mind.

“I had the cloak with me. And who says I can’t _alohomora_ my way out of there?” Hermione boasted, trying to cover up her panic with confidence. She sat up straight and flashed Harry a proud smile. She hoped it was enough for him to get off of her back about this.

“ _You can’t because Snape put a new spell on the lock._ ” Harry muttered under his breath.

“What was that, Harry?” Hermione asked, not able to make out the boy’s words since he sounded like he was talking to himself. “Nothing. Just go to bed, you must be exhausted.” Harry told her while getting up from the floor.

“I hope you didn’t leave your things back at the library.” he added just as he was about to ascend the stairs. He shot Hermione a knowing smile, shaking his head as he left her flustered on the couch.

Hermione blushed furiously and mentally kicked herself for forgetting her stuff back at the storeroom. She took a few minutes to compose herself, getting up from the couch and making her way to the room she shared with other Gryffindors.

She was hoping that she could still get her stuff back from the storeroom the next day. But she wondered why there was a part of her that hoped Draco had them and would be returning them to her the next day.

* * *

Hermione was woken up the next morning by the sound of their room door closing and opening, her eyes squinting at the sunlight streaming in through the windows. “What time is it?” she groggily asked. She sat up and ran a hand through her hair, seeing that most of the beds in the room were vacant. The only other person there was Lavender.

“Thought you weren’t going to wake up at all.” she snorted as she stifled a laugh. “It’s almost 7:30. Ron and Harry have been asking for you.” she informed, standing up and smoothing out her stockings before she turned to leave the room.

Hermione groaned when she realized that she had slept in. She quickly got up and got ready in under ten minutes, not bothering to take her time with her hair and make-up since she knew Ron and Harry were definitely pissed off at her at this point.

“Bloody hell, ‘Mione! What took you so long?” Ron asked in exasperation. Harry just eyed Hermione and covered up his smile after she shot her a look. “You know how Seamus gets with the bacon.” he added as he led the way to the Great Hall.

“Sorry, Ron. The other girls didn’t wake me up…” she explained with a sheepish smile and walked in sync with Harry. “Not their fault you were sneaking out so late…” Harry whispered and laughed at a red-faced Hermione.

The walk to the Great Hall was uneventful and quick. Both Harry and Hermione were surprised at how fast Ron walked. He was usually the last one left behind, especially when it was a life-and-death matter. “Sheesh, Ron. Is bacon really this important to you?” Harry teased, only to be shushed by Ron who stomped on over to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table.

“Bacon!” Ron exclaimed in excitement and sat down quickly. Hermione followed suit, sitting beside Harry and reaching for some of the food on the table.

Throughout the meal, she could feel eyes on her but she just shook it off. Maybe she was feeling like that because of the lack of sleep, or how her mind was running a hundred miles per hour at the thought of taking classes later with Draco.

She was only brought out of her thoughts when Ron was starting to whisper in annoyance. “Does Malfoy have it on his to-do list to be a complete arse every day?” the ginger-haired boy seethed. “Come on, Ron. Don’t give him the time of day.” Harry tried to calm Ron down, reaching over to pat the other boy on the shoulder a few times.

Hermione turned her head to look at where Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table. As usual, they were making animal noises directed towards Ron and seemed to be having the time of their lives with that. Her eyes met with Draco’s for a brief second before she was looking away and down at her plate.

She spent the rest of her breakfast laughing and conversing with her friends, stealing a couple of glances at Draco’s way every now and then. Hermione wasn’t sure if she was just seeing things, but she swears she saw Draco looking at her too.

* * *

“Hey, I’ll catch up with you guys later. Luna said she was going to show me something.” Harry announced and excused himself, walking out of the Great Hall to go to wherever it was he was meeting Luna at. Ron waved goodbye and was on his last strip of bacon when a thought suddenly crossed his mind: “Where’s your stuff?”

Hermione’s eyes widened at the question, obviously caught off-guard by Ron. “O-oh. I, uh… I left it last night at the library.” she quickly reasoned and cleared her throat before standing up from her seat. “Which reminds me. I have to go and get it before class starts, so I guess I’ll see you later.” she stammered and abruptly walked out of the Great Hall.

She glanced at the time on her wristwatch and saw that she still had time to look for her things, but the only problem was she didn’t know where the storeroom on the fourth floor was. She ascended the different flights of stairs and was breathless by the time she reached the fourth floor.

“Where in Merlin’s beard did Draco take me last night?” Hermione asked in a huff, hastily walking around to look for the storeroom. She hated how dark it was last night that it made her trying to recall her surroundings even more difficult.

After reaching several dead ends, Hermione finally found the room she was in last night. As she pulled out her wand and was about to cast the unlocking spell on the door, she was surprised to see it slightly ajar.

Fearing that Mr. Filch or another caretaker had gone inside and stumbled upon her stuff, she slowly pushed the door open and tried to look inside to see if there was anyone else there. She was able to poke her head in for a quick second to check if anyone was there and when the coast was clear, she went inside to look for wherever it was she left her things at.

With no luck, Hermione wasn’t able to find her things in there. She just hoped that she did leave it back at the library before Draco brought her to this unused classroom where they practiced spells all night long.

Hermione was obviously stressed out at this point because she normally doesn’t lose her things. But maybe with a little luck later, she’ll be able to find it. She pushed back all of her anxious thoughts to the back of her head and focused on getting to her first class in time, seeing that she only had a few minutes to get there.

But when she stepped out of the room, a figure she easily recognized was leaning against the wall beside the door. “Tried to catch up with you but you were too quick. Thought you might’ve been looking for this.” Draco announced and held up her schoolbag.

Though it’s becoming quite a common reaction to whatever Draco did, Hermione couldn’t deny the fact that she was surprised at the fact that Draco knew she was looking for her things. “I overheard your conversation with Weaselboy back at the hall.” he answered as if reading her mind.

“T-thanks…” Hermione said quietly, moving to take the bag from Draco only for the blonde boy to hold it above his head. “You really think I ran all the way here just so I can hear your ‘thanks’?” he asked with a playful smile on his face.

Hermione’s face turned sour when she realized that this was who Draco really was. He would always be the type of person who would go out of his way to do a favor, only to expect for something in return. “Malfoy, we’re going to be late! Give it now!” she argued and tried reaching for it, her free hand resting on Draco’s chest to keep her balance as the other hand was desperately reaching for her schoolbag.

Draco was laughing at Hermione’s weak attempts to retrieve her schoolbag, dangling it in front of her but still out of her reach. “I’ll give it back on one condition!” he said through fits of laughter. Hermione started groaning in frustration but finally gave up when she realized that Draco wasn’t going to budge any time soon.

“Fine!” she said in exasperation, taking a step back from Draco when she realized just how close they were with each other. “Just tell me what your bloody condition is so we can get to class.” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and huffing, much to the amusement of Draco.

“You let me spend time with you.” Draco presented, smiling smugly at a stunned Hermione.

“What? What game are you playing at, Malfoy?” she asked in frustration. There must have been some kind of catch to this condition of his. There was no way she was going to be spending time with someone she considered an enemy.

“I’m being serious here, Granger. I helped you out, didn’t I? So, do this for me: let me spend time with you.” he repeated.

Just by looking at his confident stance, Hermione knew that Draco wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

“Fine.” she sighed in defeat, moving to run a hand through her hair to somehow calm herself down. “But would you at least tell me why you would want to spend time-”

“Great. I’ll see you tonight.” Draco smiled and handed over her schoolbag, turning to walk in the other direction. “Tick tock, Granger. You’re going to be late.” he announced before turning a corner and disappearing from Hermione’s view.

She stood there for a while to process what just happened, knowing full well that it was out of character for Draco to be behaving this way.

_Why did he run all the way here to get her things, and why on earth would he want to spend time with her?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being MIA for a while, guys! I've been having trouble juggling both school and responsibilities at home. There was just a lot going on for me and I didn't have enough energy to write for a while. I'm really sorry, but I'll be sure to make up for the days I was unable to update this fic. Hope you still enjoy, though! <3

“ _How long does it take for me to straighten this stupid hair out?!”_ Hermione huffed under her breath as she brushed through her hair, sitting tensely at the vanity mirror while her eyes were focused on getting her hair all set.

There was a knock on the door before it opened and Ginny’s head came into view. “Hey, Hermione. I was wondering if you could help me with my paper.” she greeted, walking inside and shutting the door behind her.

The redhead knit her eyebrows together in confusion at the sight of Hermione fixing herself up in front of her mirror. “Where are you going?” Ginny inquired, looking down at the pajamas she was wearing before looking back up at Hermione who was wearing casual clothes.

Hermione’s face flushed and she could only shake her head, catching Ginny’s eyes in the mirror. “Oh, uh… I have to go to the library for some last-minute… research..?” Hermione answered in a rather unsure voice. Ginny squinted her eyes and tilted her head to the side. Hermione could only hope that Ginny would just drop it and leave.

Ginny remained quiet for a while until she finally walked over to Hermione’s side and leaned back against the vanity dresser. “I won’t tell Ron or Harry if you agree to help me.” she proposed with a triumphant grin on her face. Hermione sighed and just nodded her head in response.

“But you have to promise that you won’t tell them at all, okay?” Hermione said in a defeated tone, looking up at the younger girl who seemed to be rather pleased with the deal she thought of. “I promise. I just really need help with this Herbology paper.” Ginny assured and made her way back to the door.

Hermione was able to breathe when the door opened behind her and Ginny was headed out. But just as she was about to reach for her bottle of perfume, the door swung open again and Ginny had a teasing look on her face.

“Don’t put on more perfume unless you want your date coughing like mad when he catches a whiff of you.” Ginny teased before finally leaving. “It’s not a date!” Hermione called out in a defensive tone, setting the bottle of perfume back down and shaking her head.

She looked at herself in the mirror with confusion written all over her face. “What _on earth_ are you even doing, Hermione? Getting dressed? And for what?” she started saying, about to scold herself some more until the door opened.

Her roommates were probably back from the group study they had going on down at the common room, so Hermione took this as a cue for her to leave and meet up with Draco at the library.

As much as she wanted to deny it, a small part of her was excited to meet up with Draco. And an even smaller part of her was wishing that this meet-up would be more of a date.

But of course, she won’t be admitting that to anyone anytime soon. Not even to herself.

* * *

Hermione wasn’t able to borrow Harry’s invisibility cloak so she was extra careful with the way she was walking around the corridors after curfew. She managed to dodge a few prefects here and there until she finally arrived at the storeroom Draco took her to a few nights ago.

Before entering, she made sure that nobody was following her and when she was sure that the coast was clear, she went inside and shut the door behind her as quiet as she could.

“Took you long enough.”

Hermione turned around and saw Draco still in his school uniform, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows. “I see you had time to change, Granger.” Draco commented as his eyes scanned Hermione from head to toe.

There was a light shade of pink covering the girl’s cheeks, and she was rather thankful that the unused room’s source of lighting was the moonlight coming in from the windows. “I, uh… had to change after we went to Hagrid’s.” she lied, mentally cursing herself for doing something as idiotic as dressing up before she met up with Draco.

“You look good.” Draco remarked, a fond look crossing his features for a split-second before they were replaced by his usual cocky look. “Didn’t take Potter’s cloak?” he inquired and started making his way over to where Hermione was still standing by the door.

“I wasn’t able to borrow it. Didn’t want Harry getting too suspicious.” Hermione tried to say coolly. But if she were to be honest, she was starting to feel her heart hammer against her rib cage as Draco came closer and closer to her.

Draco pouted out his bottom lip and shrugged his shoulders. “Guess we’ll just have to be extra careful later then, eh?” he said in a hushed voice, continuing to walk on over to Hermione and only stopped when he was toe-to-toe with her.

“M-Malfoy…” Hermione breathed out shakily as Draco dipped his head down. The tip of his nose brushed against Hermione’s jaw and she could only hold her breath with her eyes closed. A million thoughts were running through her head and she was definitely unsure if she could be able to handle whatever was going to happen next.

She felt chills run down her spine as Draco inhaled and smiled, his hot breath trickling over the skin on her neck. “You smell good, Granger.” he whispered in a low voice before finally pulling away and walking back to where he was standing before.

Hermione found herself leaning back against the door when she felt her knees buckle from underneath her. “All right, let’s get to work, then.” Draco said with a mischievous grin, taking out his wand and gesturing for Hermione to come closer.

“Work?” Hermione questioned, not sure what it was that Draco wanted to happen. “We’re going to work on how you cast spells, Granger. Why else would we be here?” he answered, brows knit together in confusion and a smile playing at his lips. “Unless you had something else in mind…?”

“N-no!” a flustered Hermione exclaimed, the blush on her cheeks only getting redder with the way Draco was teasing her. “I mean, uh, no.” Hermione repeated and cleared her throat, this time being a bit calmer and more collected than she was just a few moments ago.

“So, let’s practice some spells then.” Draco announced and got in position, pointing his wand directly at Hermione. “Hit me with your best shot, Granger.” he taunted with a wink that made Hermione’s stomach flutter just a bit.

Hermione managed to compose herself and got into the proper dueling stance, a rather confident look on her face. “You’re going to wish you hadn’t said that, Malfoy.” she responded rather cockily, amusing Draco more than she had hoped it would.

“ _Rictusempra!_ ” Hermione exclaimed, the spell travelling from Hermione’s wand over to Draco in a split-second.

“ _Protego!_ ” Draco immediately cast, successfully deflecting Hermione’s spell and giving her another wink when she failed. “Was that your best shot, Grange-”

Before Draco could finish his sentence, Hermione flicked her wand and cast another spell. “ _Everte Statum!_ ” she shouted, the light from her wand making its way to Draco at full speed. The spell was enough to send him flying back a few feet.

“Not even close.” Hermione answered with a victorious grin, laughing at Draco as he got back up on his feet with a smile right on his face. “Not playing so nice now, Granger?” he teased as he brushed off some dust on his shirt.

“Two can play at your game, Malfoy.” Hermione said with a grin, her morale and confidence obviously being boosted now that she was able to cast a successful spell on Draco. “Is that so?” Draco responded, the grin never leaving his face as he assumed the proper dueling stance again.

Draco waited patiently for Hermione to assume the stance before he immediately cast a spell before she could counter it.

“ _Alerte Ascendare!_ ”

Hermione yelped as she was sent straight up in the air. She started falling as quick as she got up, her screams filling the room as Draco had his wand at the ready, the amused look on his face never leaving.

“ _Arresto Momentum!_ ” Draco cast, immediately stopping Hermione’s descent. “Malfoy, you stupid twat!” she started yelling, moving to compose herself as soon as she could feel the ground below her feet. Draco was laughing at how angry and flustered Hermione looked like, but the girl was having none of it.

“You’re a stupid twat! I don’t even know why I came out to meet you tonight!” Hermione continued, obviously shaken up with the charm spell that Draco cast on her earlier. She didn’t even think it was possible for her to be shot straight in the air. She only ever saw the spell used once: it was at the dueling club that Lockhart and Snape opened a few years ago.

The smile subsided from Draco’s lips when he realized that Hermione was being serious. “Granger… Granger!” he called out when she went over to the door and was almost out of the storeroom had he not caught up. “Wait!” he pushed the door shut and cornered Hermione right there.

“I’m tired, Malfoy. I’m leaving.” she said in a defeated tone, her back turned towards the blonde boy who had a look of regret on his face. “You’re not going anywhere because we’re not done yet.”

There was silence between the both of them until Hermione turned around and looked up at Draco with anger in her eyes.

“Granger, listen. I’m sorr-”

“ _Rictusempra!_ ” Hermione cast, taking Draco by surprise as he was thrown back and his laughs filled the room.

“Granger!” Draco managed to scream in between his laughs, the tickling spell doing its work as Hermione watched on with success in her eyes. “That’s what you get for being a stupid twat, Draco Malfoy!” she teased and started laughing as Draco was literally begging for her to stop.

Draco was laying limp on the floor when the spell finally wore off and he could breathe again, beads of sweat on his forehead. His chest moved up and down at an erratic speed and Hermione could only imagine how it may have been absolute hell for the boy to endure the seemingly endless tickling spell.

“I take it you’re amused with what you did?” Draco finally spoke up, not moving from where he was laying on the floor. He turned his head to meet Hermione’s eyes and laughed when they caught each other’s gaze.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders as she put her wand in the back pocket of her jeans. “I figure I could have done better.” she joked and walked over to where Draco was, hesitantly taking a seat on the spot beside him. She turned her head over to the window where they could see the night sky in all its glory.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Hermione breathed out as she looked at the stars twinkling across the dark sky.

Draco moved to sit up from where he was lying down, looking over at Hermione and smiling fondly as he carefully ran his eyes over every inch of her face.

“Yeah. Beautiful…” he mumbled under his breath, eyes only moving away when she turned her head to look at him. They caught eyes for a moment before they looked back out the window and were covered by a blanket of silence.

Sitting there next to Draco felt pretty weird for Hermione, especially with the way she could see out of the corner of her eye that he was looking at her from time to time.

It was weird, but Hermione somehow felt... happy.

She didn't know if it was a bad thing, but she didn't want to dwell on it. She's never felt this happy and contented before so she figured the least she could do was savor it.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days pass by like a blur for Hermione. The Hermione from a few weeks ago would be looking forward to the homework they would have to do in their classes, but the Hermione now only looks forward to one thing every day: her secret meet-ups with Draco after curfew.

Though she suspects that Harry’s become suspicious of her late-night trips to the library, she’s always made sure to come up with a believable excuse so he won’t keep asking her about it. For the most part, she’s starting to think that people aren’t catching up at all with her newfound friendship with the biggest bully in Hogwarts.

Hermione had moments with her talking to herself, thinking about the current set-up she had with the boy from Slytherin. It was rather odd, wasn’t it? Someone like Hermione being friends with someone like Draco… but there was no harm in that, was there? At least to Hermione there wasn’t. Save for the fact that his family wasn’t very fond of half-bloods and Muggle-borns. But she always thought that Draco was different from his father, even though he can be a bit of a prick sometimes.

With all these thoughts running through her head, Hermione was oblivious to the fact that Ron had been asking her a question about their homework for their Charms class. “Are you all right, ‘Mione?” Ron asked with a worried look on his face. Hermione blinked a few times as she processed the question and could only nod and smile in response.

“Harry!” Ron called, eyeing Hermione warily before he turned his head to look at Harry who seemed preoccupied talking to Ginny. They were currently at the Great Hall, some of the students just hanging out and talking with each other. “Hermione’s acting all weird and out of it!” Ron continued to which Hermione feigned a laugh. “What are you talking about, Ronald?”

Ginny pressed her lips in a straight line to keep herself from saying something, while Harry just shook his head at Ron. “She seems all right to me.” Harry responded with a grin and shot Hermione a knowing look. The brunette mouthed a ‘thank you’ to Harry and quickly looked back down to the book in front of her when Draco passed by their table.

“Keep it down, will you, Weasel?” Draco taunted, hitting the back of Ron’s head with the notebook that was rolled up in his hand. “Oi! You foul gits!” Ron exclaimed and swatted away the Slytherins who were snickering at him. “Leave him alone, Malfoy.” Harry chimed in, jaw and fists clenched as he looked up at the blonde from where he was seated.

Draco raised his eyebrows at Harry’s sudden burst of courage, smirking at him as he held back a laugh. “What are you gonna do about it, pottymouth?” he challenged, some of the students sitting at the surrounding tables quieting down as Draco sneered down at Harry.

“Stop it, Malfoy.” Hermione suddenly said, the smirk fading from Draco’s features as he slowly looked over at Hermione. She had an intimidating expression on her face, and it clearly did its job as Draco’s tense body immediately went soft. He started opening his mouth to say something but immediately decided against it. Instead, he raised his eyebrows over at Hermione before turning around and waving his hand for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him.

“Come on, then. Don’t want to catch whatever disease Weaselboy has with that ugly, tattered robe of his.” Draco announced and walked away with his hands shoved in his pockets, his posse following close behind him as they laughed at his remarks.

Hermione followed Draco’s fleeting figure with a look of annoyance on her face. “What are you lot still looking at? Show’s over!” Ron exclaimed in frustration and shook his head at the humiliation he was feeling. Hermione let out a breath she was holding when Draco finally disappeared from sight.

“Are you all right, Hermione?” Harry asked worriedly, reaching over to cup her hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. Ron and Ginny both started looking at her with the same look of concern in their eyes as Harry. The brunette just nodded her head and forced a laugh so they wouldn’t worry too much. “Don’t let him get to you too much, ‘Mione.” Ron started saying, Harry withdrawing his hand as he sat up properly and returned to his conversation with Ginny.

Hermione frowned and let out another deep breath, her arms crossed as she tried to relax. “I just hate it when he talks down on you like that. As if he’s any better.” she said in disdain, shaking her head and moving to go back to where she was reading. “Well, I guess we can’t do anything to change Malfoy.” Ron said in a defeated tone and shrugged his shoulders, going to open his book back up and resume his homework.

* * *

The rest of the day is uneventful, Hermione retiring to bed early that night. She didn’t care if Draco would be waiting for her at their usual meeting place. She was still annoyed at him and how he humiliated Ron earlier. And even though there was a small, nagging voice inside her head telling her to go and meet with Draco, she managed to block it out and forced herself to go to sleep instead.

She woke up a few hours later at the sound of Lavender’s loud snores. She got out of bed and went out to the common room, glad to see that there wasn’t anyone else there but her. Hermione hated feeling like this, and she absolutely hated the fact that she wasn’t spending her night with Draco. But she knew that she had to take a break from meeting up with Draco for a while. She just couldn’t stand when he was being a huge prick towards Ron and Harry.

Hermione sat down on the couch and watched as the fire weakly burned the wood in the fireplace. She glanced over at the clock on the wall: _3:15 AM._

She still had time, didn’t she? Would Draco still be there if she sneaked out right now? A bunch of questions buzzed through her head and she knew that she could only answer them by getting up and leaving now. But as soon as she got up from the couch, a voice called out from behind her.

“He’s not there.” Harry said, the Marauder’s map in his right hand.

“H-Harry… I was just-” Hermione stared before she was cut off with Harry shaking his head. “You don’t have to explain, Hermione.” he told her in a soft voice and gave her a little smile. Hermione bit down on her lip as Harry walked over so he could take a seat on the couch. “You know about the nightmares I have, right?” he started, turning his head and smiling over at Hermione.

She sighed in defeat and went over to the couch so she could sit beside Harry, knowing that there was no way out of this because she was already caught red-handed. “Well, you know those few times you’ve snuck in to our room and grabbed my cloak? You may have thought I was asleep the whole time but you thought wrong, Hermione.” Harry teased with a laugh, to which Hermione could only groan as she moved to rest her head on his shoulder.

“So I became suspicious. At first, I wasn’t planning on spying on you with the map.” Harry explained and held up the map to prove his point. “I was just checking on Snape but then I saw your name right next to Malfoy’s. Believe it or not, I actually thought the map was broken or something.” he chuckled and shook his head, eyes trained on the flickers of ember from the fireplace.

“But night after night, I see you sneaking out and being with him. I was actually quite relieved when I realized that the map wasn’t broken or anything.” Harry joked to which Hermione laughed weakly. She let out a breath and closed her eyes to save her from the humiliation she was feeling.

“Please don’t tell Ron.” Hermione pleaded in a soft voice. Harry nodded his head and reached over to give her a few reassuring pats on the lap. “Of course I won’t. Merlin knows what his reaction will be when he finds out you’re ‘fraternizing with the enemy’.” he kept joking as a way to lift Hermione’s spirits up. It seemed to be effective as the girl let out another soft giggle, playfully punching Harry in the shoulder as she kept close to him.

“Draco’s offered to teach me about some of the spells for our Dark Arts class.” Hermione explained. Harry nodded his head in understanding and though it was quite hard for him to wrap his mind around, he believed Hermione and he knew that she was capable of handling herself.

“Well, he is undeniably one of the top students in our class. Would only make sense for him to feed his ego by teaching you, Hermione Granger, the girl who knows it all.” Harry laughed, earning another punch in the shoulder from Hermione. She shifted in her seat and lifted her head from Harry’s shoulder. “I suppose that’s it, isn’t it? This is just a way for him to boost his ego.” Hermione breathed out, shaking her head at the thought. But deep down, she knew that it was more than that. She just had to go with it so as to avoid raising more suspicion from Harry.

Harry could only nod and they spent the rest of their time together in silence until Harry proposed that they go back to bed. Hermione went back to her room and climbed under the covers, her mind racing with all these thoughts about Draco. If he was awake right now, if he felt sad that she didn’t show up, if he was angry with her, if he actually cared that she wasn’t there…

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to calm her mind down and get rid of the thoughts. She managed falling asleep after several minutes of trying, thoughts of Draco being the last thing on her mind before she slipped into a deep slumber.

She really did feel bad that she didn’t show up, but she was hoping that Draco got the message. And truth be told, she was hoping that he was looking forward to their meetings just as much as she was.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for leaving this fic for almost three months. things have been so hectic in my life so i haven't been able to write at all. i'm really sorry and i hope that the first people who read this are still here to read the continuing chapters :-( 
> 
> and also, please dont hesitate to leave comments below and tell me where i can improve my writing! i feel like this chapter was so uneventful so pls leave down suggestions below on how to make the story better and richer. i hope that i dont let you down by the succeeding chapters i'm about to write. 
> 
> thank you and i hope all of you had a wonderful time during the holidays!

Hermione woke up the next day with a feeling of dread in her chest. She looked up at the roof of her canopy bed, biting down on her lip as various thoughts of how today was going to go down played through her head. Would Draco be disappointed in her? Would he be mad? Would he propose that they stop meeting up after curfew? There were all these thoughts running through Hermione’s mind that she wasn’t at all interested in getting out of bed and getting ready for another school day.

She eventually did, though, after much convincing from Ginny who was already dressed up and ready to go to the dining hall. “Ron and Harry went ahead, but I can wait for you.” Ginny offered with a smile as she sat down on Hermione’s bed and watched as the girl started getting ready. “Is it possible to take a sick day today?” Hermione asked while rummaging through her dresser for her uniform.

The question obviously catches Ginny off her guard since this was the first time she’s heard Hermione say something like that. Sure, she’s heard it plenty of times from her brothers. But knowing how Hermione was passionate about school and getting to her classes, this was completely unexpected from the brunette. “Are you all right, Hermione? You don’t sound like yourself.” Ginny asked with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Hermione just let out a breath and though she wished she could tell Ginny all about what she was feeling, she knew better than to tell her about her weird set-up with Malfoy, the boy who’s been making Ron’s life a living hell at Hogwarts. “I’m fine. I just don’t feel like going to class is all.” Hermione informed her, hoping that her tone was enough for Ginny to not pry into whatever it was that’s been troubling Hermione.

Ginny seemed to have picked up on the hint and decided to not ask about it, looking away from Hermione as the girl went about her usual morning routine of getting ready for school. After several minutes, Hermione was finally done and ready to go, grabbing her bag from the foot of her bed and walking out of the Gryffindor common room with Ginny right beside her.

On the way to the dining hall, Hermione kept wishing that hers and Draco’s paths wouldn’t cross at all today. But that was highly unlikely because the moment they stepped into the Great Hall, Draco and his goons were already face-to-face with Harry and Ron. She huffed at the sight before her and shook her head, not exactly in the mood to deal with any kind of drama from the boys.

“If you’re going to go at each other’s throats, would you please take it somewhere else? Some of us want to eat in peace here.” Hermione remarked as she passed by the young men, Ron turning his head to look at her as if she said something weird. “Hermione? You aren’t going to back us up here?” he asked in disbelief. Hermione didn’t pay any attention to him as she went to take a seat at the Gryffindor area, back turned towards them.

Harry was still all tense and ready to fight but he couldn’t help himself from looking over at Hermione and back at Draco. The blonde seemed to have backed down the moment Hermione came, and at her words, he seemed to want to say something back but didn’t go through with it. “Something you want to say, Malfoy?” Harry prodded on, his hands clenched into fists and ready to take out his wand at any given moment.

Draco’s eyes were set on Hermione the whole time. He was only snapped out of it when Crabbe nudged his arm, the blonde blinking a few times as he straightened himself out before he just scoffed at them. “I do, but Weasley over here might not be able to comprehend it with that pea-sized brain of his.” Draco remarked before looking over at Crabbe and Goyle. “Come on, then. Wouldn’t want to see Weasley with another episode of slug-vomiting.” Draco laughed and turned on his heel, walking out of the hall with his friends in tow.

Hermione was listening in on them the whole time, her eyes rolling while she kept her head down. Why did he have to be such an ass towards her friends? Couldn’t he be at least civil when she was there? It wasn’t rocket science that Hermione was very protective of her friends, and she didn’t like it when people, especially Draco, spoke to them in that way.

It didn’t take long for Harry and Ron to sit at the table with Hermione, both boys obviously riled up from the encounter with Draco. “He’s a complete twat is what he is. Thinks he’s all perfect just because his family’s well-off.” Ron spat out. Harry just shot him a look of concern before reaching over to give him a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t mind him, yeah? People like Malfoy only want attention is all.” Harry said in an attempt to comfort and calm his best friend.

Harry looked over at Hermione and he gave her an apologetic smile, the boy knowing full well that Hermione was pissed off at Draco but for other reasons. Reasons which Hermione tried to deny and work around. She didn’t like how affected she was whenever Ron and Harry had to take insults from Draco.

Before everything that’s happened, she was able to handle her annoyance well but now, it seemed as though she was extra hurt when Draco made fun of her friends just like that. She kept convincing herself that Draco wasn’t really all that bad, and she hated how biased she sounds every time she tries to argue with herself on that. A part of her kept telling her that people like Draco won’t ever change and the Draco he was showing her whenever they were alone together was probably just for show. But a part of her kept fighting away those thoughts and tells her that people can change, and maybe Draco was just like that with her because he feels comfortable to be vulnerable enough whenever they spent time with each other.

The thoughts were starting to become too much for Hermione and after a few more seconds of trying to get Draco out of her head, she completely lost her appetite and was unable to finish the food on her plate. “I think I’m going to go ahead…” she said weakly, standing up from the table and bringing her bag with her as she rushed out of the Great Hall before Harry or Ron could even say anything.

She needed some time away from people, some time to breathe and get her thoughts organized. After a while of mindlessly roaming the castle, she finally settled on one place where no one would go looking for her.

* * *

As soon as Hermione arrived at the unused classroom, she was relieved to find that it was deserted. She didn’t care much for her Dark Arts class that was going to take place in a few minutes. Hermione figured that just for one day, she could take a break from everything and forget about things like her grades and her perfect (soon to be imperfect) attendance.

She made her way over to the window where she and Draco shared a moment several nights ago, looking out at the blue sky and the big, white clouds that were passing by. She let out a breath at how beautiful the sight was, moving to take a seat on the floor with her bag right beside her. She hugged her knees to her chest, chin resting atop them while her eyes were looking at the sky in awe.

There was still that aching feeling in her chest with how hurt she was from Draco’s behaviour, but she kept repressing it and ignoring it. Hermione tried to blame it on her hormones and how someone her age can run into problems when it comes to dealing with their emotions. But something in her gut made her feel like this was something completely different from her emotions.

She groaned and put her head down, forehead pressed against her arms as she tried to make sense of what was happening. What else was she going to expect from someone like Draco? It’s not like he was going to start letting people see that side of him that only came out when he was in this room together with Hermione. She had to stop hoping that everything was going to turn out like those books with happy endings.

She stayed in that position for several minutes. Her head was physically hurting with how many thoughts were running through them. Hermione couldn’t deny the fact that she was absolutely upset over the fact that she and Draco were not on speaking terms for almost two days now. But she knew that it would be for the best to distance herself from him, not having it in her to betray Ron and Harry just like that.

But she _missed_ Draco. Why would Hermione even miss someone like him? That was the problem.

Another problem was the door behind her opening and then closing, followed by a familiar voice calling out to her:

“Granger.”

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat.

_Draco._


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione was quick to her feet when she heard Draco come inside the room. She cleared her throat as she dusted her robes off and went ahead to pick her bag up from the floor. “Granger, can we talk?” Draco asked, feeling annoyed at the fact that Hermione was purposely ignoring him. She cleared her throat before putting on one strap of her backpack.

“Hermione.” Draco called out one more time and was visibly aggravated at this point. Though she was surprised that he called her by her first name, Hermione continued ignoring him and moved to walk over to the door. Draco immediately reached over to put grab her arm and stop her from leaving. She shook his hand off and eyed him angrily. “Don’t touch me, _Malfoy._ ” Hermione hissed.

Draco raised his eyebrows at that and was genuinely confused with the way she was acting so hostile towards him. “Granger, what is your problem?” Draco asked as the girl stomped over to the door. He was quick to beat her to it, blocking the door with his body so she wouldn’t have any opportunity to leave. “Hermione, _please_.” he tried one more time, the sincerity in his voice making Hermione blink a few times.

“What do you even want to talk about, Malfoy?” Hermione snapped. “ _This…_ ” she huffed, letting out a weak laugh. “This was a mistake, all right? Why are we even talking to each other?” she asked in infuriation, sighing as she tried reaching for the doorknob again. Draco grabbed at her wrist and gripped onto it firmly. “Granger, calm down. Breathe, all right?” Draco attempted to calm her down. Hermione shook her head and tried to get out from his grip again, proving to be weak as she failed to get away from Draco.

“What are we even doing, Draco?” Hermione asked weakly, looking up into Draco’s grey eyes to search for answers. “Granger, I…” Draco started to talk, only to stop himself halfway through with a shake of his head. “I honestly don’t know.” he finally breathed out. He let go of Hermione’s wrist and ran a hand through his tousled hair, cheeks flushing a light shade of pink as his gaze shifted from Hermione’s brown eyes down to the stone floor.

Hermione was expecting an answer from Draco and when he couldn’t come up with one, she felt disappointed. All she wanted was a reason to stay, but it seemed as though Draco couldn’t give one to her at all. “Like I said, Malfoy… this whole set-up was a mistake.” she said quietly and moved again to reach for the doorknob.

“If you’ll excuse me— Draco!” Hermione yelped as she was suddenly pressed up against Draco. A deep shade of red was now covering Hermione’s cheeks as her hands were resting on the boy’s chest. Hermione couldn’t stop herself from feeling the defined pecs underneath his shirt. She blushed harder at the thought but immediately shook it out of her mind, coming back to her senses as she looked up at the man holding her close. “What are you doing?!” she exclaimed while wriggling about in his hold, trying her best to ignore how much he smelled like mint and some hints of citrus.

“You and I both know that this wasn’t a mistake. At all.” Draco said through gritted teeth, eyes boring into Hermione’s. There was pure silence between the both of them and Hermione could swear that Draco could hear how hard her heart was pounding against her chest. She didn’t know why she got so nervous and weak around Draco, especially when they were close to each other like this. “Draco…” she said breathlessly.

Draco’s lips parted slightly at the way Hermione called out to him, never breaking his gaze away from her eyes. He didn’t know what he was doing at all, but it felt right to stop Hermione from leaving again before they could work through whatever it was that was causing a gap between the both of them. “ _Granger…_ ” he said under his breath. He let his eyes wander from her eyes down to her pink lips, leaning in a bit and hearing the girl’s breath catch in her throat at the close proximity between them.

Draco kept leaning in, their lips brushing against each other. And just as he was about to lean in some more, he heard voices and footsteps coming from outside the door. He quickly let go of his hold around Hermione’s waist and took a few steps back. He obviously didn’t know what has gotten into him, feeling all flustered and embarrassed at the fact that he was about to _kiss_ Hermione Granger.

Hermione, on the other hand, was left dazed and confused. She didn’t know what that was about, but she did feel a bit pissed off because it felt like Draco was just playing around with her. “You’re a complete ass, did you know that?” Hermione huffed, voice breaking at the end as she held back her sobs. “Hermione, I—” Draco tried, only to have Hermione wave him off with her hand. “Just leave me alone, Malfoy.” she managed to get out before a sob escaped from her lips.

Draco just stood there and watched as Hermione went out of the room and disappeared completely from his view. He stayed standing there, completely dumbfounded and having not one clue as to what came over him just now.

* * *

Hermione showed up to the Great Hall just in time before the end of their free period, eyes bloodshot from all the crying she did in the bathroom. Ron was the first one to spot her, followed by Harry. “Hermione! Where have you been?” the redhead asked before realizing that she had just come back from crying. “Hermione, what’s wrong?” Harry asked worriedly, standing up from his seat and reaching over to try and put a hand on her shoulder.

Hermione shook her head and gently pushed Harry’s hand away. The boys took it as a sign that she didn’t want to be talking to anyone for a while, Harry shooting Ron a look before they were back to their conversation. “So, uh… Snape’s class was boring, eh?” Ron tried to initiate a conversation, Harry sighing and shaking his head at how awkward Ron absolutely sounded.

“Yeah? What did you guys do?” Hermione asked, sniffling the whole way through as she tried her best to wipe away the tears that seemed to keep on coming. “You’d have probably enjoyed it. Went by the books and all—" Ron continued, until Harry interrupted him. “D’you want some water, Hermione?” Harry offered, sliding over his cup towards her. She just nodded and drank from it, setting it down on the table before she moved to rest her head on Ron’s shoulder.

“You’ll be all right, yeah?” Ron said gently and put an arm around her. He gave her a light squeeze and kept his hand there, Harry smiling at the fond interaction between his friends. His gaze shifted from them and to the doors of the Great Hall, catching Draco’s eyes. He watched as Draco looked over to where Hermione was sitting beside Ron, Harry catching onto how the blonde boy’s whole body tensed at the sight before he turned on his heel and walked out.

Harry decided not to make any mention of it and figured it was just Draco being Draco. The three of them sat there until their free period ended, packing up their stuff and walking together to their next class: Potions.

As much as Hermione didn’t want to go because of the fact that Draco was going to be there, Harry and Ron were able to convince her, Harry even promising that he'd help her with that potion she didn't know how to concoct properly. She didn't want to, but she did appreciate the fact that they were trying to cheer her up one way or another. And who knows, maybe Draco wouldn't even be there at all.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione, Ron, and Harry arrived at the classroom right before Professor Slughorn started their class. He started off by taking their attendance, asking the students to sit around the tables before he introduced to them their topic for today. Hermione couldn’t help but eye the cauldron boiling in the middle of the room, eyebrows furrowing at the weird smell of fresh linen coming from it.

“Excuse me, Professor? Why does it smell like that?” Hermione asked with a hand raised, interrupting Professor Slughorn but the old wizard didn’t seem to be too bothered by it. Rather, he seemed pleased that Hermione did ask that question. “Good nose, Ms. Granger. But if I may ask, can you be more specific with what you’re smelling?” the professor asked with a grin.

Hermione bit down on her lip as she tried to find the right terms to tell him whatever it was. She didn’t want to sound silly by telling him that she could smell fresh linen and a different musky scent. Professor Slughorn interrupted her thoughts by walking over to the bubbling cauldron, putting one hand on the cover while looking around at his students. “Go on, Ms. Granger. Tell me what you’re smelling,” he encouraged.

“I, uh… I know it sounds silly but it smells like fresh linen and citrus, sir…” Hermione said quietly, earning a confused look from Harry and Ron. “Fresh linen? Surely we don’t use any linen in our potions now do we, Professor?” Ron said with a chuckle. Hermione glared at him and rolled her eyes, clearing her throat and moving to sit up straight in her stool. “I’m sorry, Professor. I must be really out of it for me to smell something like that coming from a potion.”

As Professor Slughorn was about to speak, the door behind him opened and in walked Draco, a gloomy look on his face. “Ah, Mr. Malfoy! Perfect timing,” Slughorn greeted him and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking. “We were just talking about this potion here. Would you mind telling me what you can smell from it?” the man asked with an excited smile. Draco let out a breath and shrugged his shoulders. Hermione just rolled her eyes and averted her gaze elsewhere, pretending to read from the book on the table in front of her.

Draco managed to get Professor Slughorn’s hand off of his shoulders. He watched as their professor took the lid off of the cauldron, a strong scent immediately wafting out from it. Draco felt dizzy as he tried to process what was happening. He didn’t know why he was so attracted to the smell, but he couldn’t stop his feet from moving closer to the cauldron. The professor had a mischievous grin playing at his lips and just as Draco was getting closer and closer to the cauldron, he put the lid back on it.

“What was that…?” asked a dazed Draco, blinking a few times to get back to his senses. All of the students were shifting in their seats as they were also affected by the smell of the potion. “That, Mr. Malfoy, was Amortentia!” Slughorn announced happily. “You can be seated now, Mr. Malfoy.” he said with a smile and gave Draco a pat on the back. Draco still seemed a bit fazed from the smell of the potion and he could only give Crabbe and Goyle a nod as soon as he was seated at their table.

“What’s amortentia, sir?” a Ravenclaw asked to the delight of Professor Slughorn. “Why, it’s the most powerful love potion ever concocted!” he responded and moved to take the lid off again. As soon as it was off, all the students leaned in and tried to get a whiff of the invigorating scent. “I can see that all of you took a liking to the potion, eh? Ms. Granger, you told us that you could smell fresh linen, right?” Slughorn asked enthusiastically to which Hermione could only nod. 

“My dear students, amortentia smells different for each person. It depends on who or what you’re attracted to,” he explained and paused to look at Hermione. “In Ms. Granger’s case, she seems attracted to someone who smells like… fresh linen and citrus.” Slughorn smiled, eyes lighting up as he pointed to someone in the back. “As for Mr. Malfoy, would you care to share with us what you were able to smell?”

Draco shifted in his seat as all eyes were on him. Well, except for a certain brunette who seemed to be too occupied with her book. “Uh… the potion smelled like…” Draco started, not sure if he should say what the potion smelled like for him. “Jasmine. There was definitely jasmine in there. And, uh, I also smelled parchment paper… and lavender shampoo.” he finished, a blush creeping up his pale cheeks as the people around him started talking in hushed whispers.

“My, my. Jasmine is indeed a pretty scent. One can only wonder who smells like that, eh?” Professor Slughorn remarked teasingly and went over to the blackboard behind him, starting to write recipes for the potions they were going to make today. At the Golden Trio’s table, Hermione kept her head hung low while Ron seemed puzzled by all this. “Jasmine, parchment paper… lavender shampoo?” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Harry and Hermione to hear.

Ron tapped his fingers on the surface of their table. He was visibly straining as he racked his brain to figure out where he smelled those three scents before. “Ron, stop that. It’s annoying.” Hermione scolded, only for Ron’s head to shoot up before he leaned in close to Hermione to take a whiff of her scent. “Wait a minute, you smell like what Malfoy smelled in the –” Ron let out an ‘oof’ sound as Harry elbowed him in the side pretty hard. “Shut up.” Harry hissed, looking over at Hermione who looked like she saw a ghost with how pale she was.

Ron cradled his side while looking at Harry and Hermione with a puzzled look on his face. He decided to drop the topic already, not wanting to earn another elbow to the side from Harry. The ginger-haired boy looked around, only to catch Draco looking over at their table. Draco was quick to avert his eyes somewhere else, clearing his throat and shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

It took Ron a few more moments before he finally pieced two and two together, letting out a surprised sound as he realized what was happening. “Malfoy smelled Hermione –” Ron exclaimed, not finishing as Harry quickly put his hand over Ron’s mouth to stop him from saying anything more. 

Professor Slughorn turned to look at the commotion happening, eyebrows knit together as he looked at his students. “What is going on over there, Mr. Potter?” he asked in an irritated tone. Hermione felt like all eyes were on her and she started feeling like the walls were closing in on her. Harry tried making up a story on the spot but Hermione was feeling overwhelmed as all kinds of thoughts ran through her head. The girl abruptly stood up from her chair and rushed out of the room, stopping Harry mid-sentence while the rest of the class looked on.

“Ms. Granger! Where are you going?” Professor Slughorn called out. He let out a breath and shook his head, clapping his hands together to try and get the students’ attention back to him. “All right, that’s enough. Let’s go back to –” the sound of a chair’s legs scraping against the floor and falling over resounded, interrupting Slughorn for the second time. Draco briskly walked out of the classroom and the only thing Slughorn could do at this point was to watch him with another exasperated sigh coming from his lips. 

“Are there any more students who want to walk out? No more? Great, let’s go back to the lesson, then.”


End file.
